Shillong: Voltage fluctuations are to blame for water shortage in East and West Shillong constituencies in Meghalaya, according to East Shillong MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh.
Lyngdoh was speaking to the press after attending a meeting that was convened on Thursday evening by Chief Secretary Donald P Wahlang. The meeting was also attended by West Shillong legislator Mohendro Rapsang.
The voltage fluctuation in the electrical supply impacts the amount of water pumped and supplied to parts of the city, Lyngdoh said.
Lyngdoh and Rapsang added that Wahlang has assured that the power supply to Mawphlang, where most of the city’s water comes from, will be constant and uninterrupted.
“We have been given the assurance in the meeting convened by the Chief Secretary that this issue will be immediately attended to,” Lyngdoh said, adding that residents are spending a lot of money to augment water supply in their homes.
“I have spent Rs 12,000 in the last 15 days for the water in my home. Imagine the plight of the common man. We have flagged these issues to the CS and the Chief Minister and are looking forward to the problem being sorted out at the earliest,” she said.
She also informed that the Shillong Municipal Board will soon be equipped with five additional water tankers to meet the water demand during crisis.
“We get our water from Umkhen, which is a major source, as well as from the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS) 1 and 2. GSW 3 was supposed to supply about 2 million litres of water per day to the city. This is supposed to be the magic number to augment the inadequate water supply we have been facing, especially in the last two years,” she said, adding that Phase 2 of the GSWSS 3 will be commissioned by December.
Wahlang assured that the water supply from Umkhen that has been severed will resume at the earliest.
Also read | Shillong: Tharoor to visit as part of Cong prez poll campaign